As the song goes, It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but for us in the Florida Keys, it isn’t just because it’s the Holidays. It’s also because Sailfish tournament season is here!

On social media, you mostly see the fish that were caught, the scoring results, and the trophies. But you only get to see a small portion of the necessary prep work leading up to the tournament. Fishing sailfish tournaments competitively takes a significant amount of preparation and planning.

Sailfish Tournament Season Preparations

Every year Main Attraction crews begin to prepare for the Sailfish tournament season months in advance. Catching baits several months before a tournament allows them to toughen up while living in the bait cages at our marina.

This year was no exception. Over the past few months, Captain Marty Lewis watched the weather in wait for ideal conditions to catch Herring, large Pilchards, and Goggle Eyes.

Getting enough bait for just one tournament takes quite a few trips. This is because of the sheer volume and variety needed. Additionally, Some bait species are best caught during the day, and others in the middle of the night.

As he does every year, Captain Marty was sure to catch each type of bait on separate trips to avoid mixing his bait types in the live well. A varied bait selection ensures preparedness for many situations, offering more options to attract Sailfish and ensuring durability in the livewell throughout the day.

The Pilchard is one of our go to baits in the Florida Keys, and using them to catch Sailfish is often a good choice.

Sailfish Tournament Season Preparations

Every year Main Attraction crews begin to prepare for the Sailfish tournament season months in advance. Catching baits several months before a tournament allows them to toughen up while living in the bait cages at our marina.

This year was no exception. Over the past few months, Captain Marty Lewis watched the weather in wait for ideal conditions to catch Herring, large Pilchards, and Goggle Eyes.

Getting enough bait for just one tournament takes quite a few trips. This is because of the sheer volume and variety needed. Additionally, Some bait species are best caught during the day, and others in the middle of the night.

As he does every year, Captain Marty was sure to catch each type of bait on separate trips to avoid mixing his bait types in the live well. A varied bait selection ensures preparedness for many situations, offering more options to attract Sailfish and ensuring durability in the livewell throughout the day.

First Tournament Of The Season

The Sailfish season’s first tournament scheduled this year was the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament from Dec 1-3, 2023. A few weeks prior, Main Attraction co-owner Katie Lewis filled out all of the tournament entry forms and paid the registration fees before their deadline. Katie also arranged Food and beverage prep with the fantastic Brutus Seafood restaurant to keep our crews fueled with tasty breakfast sandwiches and lunches.

Maintenance

In addition to bait catching and paperwork, boat maintenance is another must for a successful outing. Our captains are well-trained to inspect our vessels meticulously to prevent breakdowns, which is crucial to our success. Captain Marty was sure to top up all fluids and perform an oil change to his vessel a few days before the event. Then, on the morning of the tournament, he rechecked his vessel to ensure all fluids, such as coolant, oil, and fuel, were at the proper levels.

Kickoff

The night before the tournament began, Katie Lewis attended the kickoff meeting to pay optional category fees, and pick up the provided tournament supplies. The tournament rules were also read out loud, but Katie had printed them in advance so Marty could review them firsthand. While Katie was at the kickoff meeting, Marty loaded the Baits from the cages into his boat. After that, it was an early night for the team to get some much-needed rest before the early start.

Day One

On December 1st, 2023, the team met very early at the Marathon Sailfish Marina for a 4 am departure. Captain Marty took the 49′ Main One out of the marina and headed to his bait spot to catch fresh ballyhoo and eat their breakfast sandwiches, watching the sunrise. This is typically how Captain Marty likes to spend his mornings on the day of a Sailfish Tournament.

Captain Marty looks over the horizon before starting day one of the tournament.

The official commencement of the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament was signaled as “Lines in” was announced at 8:30 am via the radio. At 9:13 am, Angler Mark Busch officially caught and released the Main Attraction team’s first Sailfish of the day aboard the Main One. Captain Marty was proud of his son, Alex, who spotted the day’s first fish. They were off to a great start but made sure to stay calm. Tournament days are very long, and a lot can happen, so our crews constantly endeavor to keep focused and remain calm.

By 10:38 am, team Main Attraction/Main One called in another release. This time, the angler was Captain Ariel Medero. Ariel worked for the Main Attraction years ago but now has his own operation named Big Game Sportfishing. We love it when Ariel fishes with us, and he is welcome anytime he wants to fish on one of our tournament teams.

Shortly after, the bite slowed down. Captain Marty was still finding fish, but they weren’t eating. Sometimes, even if you have all the right baits, no matter what you pitch at them, the Sailfish simply aren’t eating.

A few hours later, the Main One team put another release on the board; this time, it was Captain Danny Lombardo on the rod. Captain Danny runs a 37′ vessel named Water Damage out of Islamorada. He is another great fisherman who joins our tournament teams each year. While Danny fought his fish, Captain Marty backed the Main One down to ensure a swift release. It was an exciting scene with ocean water coming over the transom due to the sporty conditions.

Because the visibility was pretty good, Captain Marty continued to sightfish, having the team pitch baits. Shortly after, Captain Danny got bit again and released the fourth fish of the day. At this point, the Main One team was neck and neck with a few other teams, and one more fish would make the day.

Around 3:15 pm, Captain Marty sent a text to his wife, sharing news of their 5th fish of the day. This particular fish held significant importance as it had the potential to propel them into first place on Day 1. The Sailfish they hooked was notably larger and made a determined dive into the deep water. Captain Ariel, was on the rod this time, engaging in a strenuous battle to reel in the fish.

Given that the fish had been hooked before the lines were officially out, they had until 5:00 pm to release it for the catch to be considered legal. With the clock ticking at 4:39 pm, Captain Marty announced the successful release of the fish, securing their leading position for Day 1. Exhausted yet exhilarated after a grueling day, the team celebrated their day one achievement. Five Billfish flags soared proudly as Captain Marty steered the Main One back to Marathon.

The scoreboard at the end of day one.

Day Two

Day two started just like day one. The team departed the marina at 4 am once again. Captain Marty took the team back to the bait spot to get fresh ballyhoo and watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities ended.

Day Two started off with a beautiful sunrise.

While the team encountered plenty of fish, they could not trigger a bite. Sometimes the fish aren’t very hungry, but this can also happen during tournaments for another reason. If a boat recently caught and released a sailfish, it will usually ignore baits pitched to it while it recovers from the battle. Many of the fish team Main One was encountering may have already been pestered by other boats.

Whatever the reason, every fish the Main One team encountered on day two turned down the baits they offered. Even with an assortment of top-notch, enticing baits they just couldn’t trigger a bite. When faced with such a scenario, the only recourse is to continue the search for a hungry fish. Day two was a long, frustrating day, but the guys were not giving up. With one more day of fishing ahead, they remained determined to turn the tide in their favor.

Day Three

Day three meant yet another early morning. Leaving the dock at 4 am three days in a row can wear on you, but the knew that a good attitude goes a long way in this situation. The guys cracked jokes to keep it fun and lighthearted and maintain a positive morale. Once they hit the morning bait spot, they discussed what direction they would take to set up for the last day of the tournament.

Visibility looked like another good day for sight fishing; they just needed to find some hungry fish. The first couple of hours started off like the previous day with non-eaters. Finally, at 10:11 am, Captain Marty radioed angler Mark Busch, successfully catching and releasing their sixth fish of the tournament. Over the next two hours, a few more boats released fish before the bite slowed, and eventually, day three came to a close.

Results

Team Main One finished in 6th place with only two Sailfish separating them from the 3rd place boat. While the team aspired to place within the top three, they took pride in their hard work. Over the three days, the team spent 21.5 hours fishing and encountered 27 Sailfish. They had six bites out of those 27 fish, converting them to 6 successful releases.

The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is the first tournament in the 2024 Florida Keys Gold Cup Sailfish Championship series. This means team Main Attraction / Main One has two more games to fish before the final standings of the series.

Awards Ceremony

The Main One team attended the evening awards ceremony at Whale Harbor, in Islamorada to support the winning teams. Congratulations to Trophy Hunter for securing the 1st position, Team Carolina Reel Men for achieving 2nd place, and Killbox for claiming 3rd place. The Top Male Angler was Robert Richardson SR on the boat dubbed Yabba Dabba Doo, and the top Female angler was Seanna Lindback aboard the Tiki. The top junior angler is no surprise, Andy Cone is a name you will hear for years to come. His father, Brian Cone, is a well-known Captain in Islamorada who fished the Trophy Hunter.

Conclusion

After three intense fishing days, when we all come together, there’s a palpable sense of joy as we celebrate and congratulate every team. It’s a camaraderie that embodies the true spirit of the Florida Keys.

Stay tuned as the team returns to tournament fishing in January 2024 after the holiday break. If you are interested in tournament fishing with the Main Attraction team, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by phone at 305-289-0071 or visit our contact page.